"Star Trek" 1993

A Half Century of Star Trek

Show Celebrates Golden Anniversary

“To boldly go where no man has gone before,” could easily describe Hirschfeld’s work as well as the classic television series, Star Trek. The science fiction TV show is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, and you may be surprised to know that like many Broadway shows, it’s premiere was heralded by a Hirschfeld drawing, this one in TV Guide to illustrate a review of the new show. As always, Hirschfeld gave us the action but not the plot of the show, and singled out the two main characters, played by Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. Hirschfeld had drawn Shatner in the original Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong in 1958.

He did not return to the series until 1991, when TV Guide again commissioned the artist for a drawing of the cast the then hit sequel series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was in the middle of its seven year run. The only member of the cast he drawn previously was Whoopi Goldberg who played an alien bartender in the ship's lounge, Ten Forward.